The Bobbsey Twins……

The Bobbsey Twins…… 

That is what their mother called them… Gary and the King.

They are 15 months apart.   And as you can see from the pictures.. they were quite a team..  always laughing..  Well, that wouldn’t be quite true, as there was a stretch of time.. where things were not good as sometimes happens to brother/siblings…  But time heal the wounds and once again … 23 years ago.. they were back at it again..  driving all of us, in the circle, crazy. What one wouldn’t do the other would.. the teasing and etc. 

And then last year.. Gary decided to move back up to Idaho after being gone for about 30 years.  He and his wife Sandee, found a house they loved in Bonner’s Ferry.. just 40 minutes away.. which was a heck of a lot better than 4 hours.  4 hours was maybe 2 trips and rare 4 trips a year to see each other.  The move to Bonner’s Ferry meant 2 at least if not more trips a week for the King to go see his brother… to help him in the moving.. Moving truck load, after truck loads, after trucks and  of many trailer full as well.  Those 4 hours one way trips..  taking about 2 months worth. And that wasn’t counting the moving van guys truck.

 There was the garden to put in, the fruit trees to trim, and the mowing of the lawn when Gary wasn’t feeling good.  Anything to help his big brother. It was like old times…. Talks and laughs and talk of adventures to look forward to. Fishing holes, hunting to do.

 All came to a screeching halt last fall. Gary was found to have cancer in his throat.  Involving his voice box.  There were 7 weeks of radiation and chemo.  And the King going up to BF to change the tires on one of the rigs, so they could have good tractions when they had to make those long trips to the Cda. for the treatments all week long.  There was fixing things around the house. Picking the fruit and bring them home here, so we made apple sauce, drunken cherries, and pears put up in jars… while they were away.. Anything the King could do. And more talks of fishing trips.

In January 2021.. the treatments were over.. and Gary was getting stronger.  But come February 1^st. things changed drastically.  And a week that flew by.. with roller coaster days.. great highs on Thursday and hitting lows on Friday. Slapped on Saturday. And Sunday .. a mere week later…… 

A young man who died way too soon, bent down and put his hand thru the clouds, reaching his father’s hand, and help him up into the clouds and they hugged.  In the background was a husky voice.. HELLO … BROTHER FROM ANOTHER MOTHER..Vince,  Gary’s buddy who left last fall… and another hug of greetings…   …….. as we all had tears running down our faces. 

We, three, the wife, the brother and the sister in law (me) leaving the hospital … stunned, not grasping the fullness, numbness from the week, still not quite believing the truth of it all. Blood clots they said.. brain strokes… still all a blur…. 

And now there is only two left. See the King’s sister died 5 years ago.. two years ago a younger brother passed… And now the eldest. 

We promised we do our best to help Gary’s widow. And we will. Luckily she has good family support coming too from Spokane. 

Now come the hard part for the King… we have been thru a lot the last several years..  a while back, we endure the lost of his mother, my mother, my father, my brother, one of our daughters,  his sister, his brother, and a son in law…  We are still hanging on.  But Lord, he is tired… so help give him the strength to endure.